The shows started with a very loud modernised version of The Blaydon Races, after which Tim Healy took the stage to introduce the show and tell a few old but classic jokes.

The evening continued with music from Sammy’s first band Pigmeat, The Houseband and the McNally Band.

There were some specially written Auf Wiedersehen Pet sketches and although we saw the same show twice they were different. The sketches started with Neville asking Dennis what all the jabs were for to which Dennis replied Hepatitis, Typhoid and Dengie fever. Next you hear the voice of a female (Denise Welch, I think) saying bend over Mr Osborne to which Oz responded "can you tell a person’s character by looking up their jacksy?" Oz then appears on stage in the process of pulling up his trousers and exposing a cheek. The discussion between Oz, Dennis and Neville continues with Neville asking where they were going to need all those jabs, Dennis points up to an Iraq flag and a picture of SaddamHussein. They get into a discussion about how the man in the picture looks like Englebert Humperdink to which Oz responds "I always wondered what happened to him." The show continues in typical Auf Pet style and introduces characters played by Pam Royle and Mike Neville. For anyone who is a big fan of Auf Pet I would like to assure you that I was very happy to see that Oz, Dennis and Neville were played in exactly the same way in this show as they were in the series 20 years ago.

Val McLane followed and started by saying "ee, I’ve known them boys for so long they could be my brothers." She went on to say she’d worked with Sammy since 1973 and she knew he liked the blues so she sang a Billy Holliday song (very well).

Jimmy Nail came on stage and announced that as we the audience wouldn’t have really known Sammy they’d give us a taste of the kind of person he was by playing a collection of video clips featuring him. We were also told to ignore Jimmy as he was going to sing a song to accompany the video. He sang the Beatles song ‘In my life’. I think that in the first show he sang by himself but in the second he was accompanied by Tim Healy and Kevin Whately (If anyone wants to correct me on that please do as I could actually see the singing in the second show but not the first).

The video clips included: Auf Wiedersehen Pet, Spender, Crocodile Shoes, The Gambling Man, Lost In France and others that I would love someone to tell me about as I didn’t know them. This part of the show really brought a tear to my eye.

Denise Welch and Emma Watts from Coronation Street sung a specially adapted Coronation Street version of ‘Yesterday’.

Apparently Sammy was cast as the VIZ character Sid the Sexist, so a group of people including a lady from the bill performed a very amusing bar scene and then went on to sing the Geordie Rap.

One of the things that brought home what the charity is all about was the introduction of a band called Stouffa. Tim introduced them saying they had approached the charity as they were 16 year olds with a following in Newcastle but they could often not be seen as they had no lighting rig. Tim went to see them at the Bridge Hotel and he was so impressed that the charity bought the lighting rig for them. They performed 2 of their songs ‘World Looking In’ in the first show and ‘The Desert Song’ in the second. Both of these were very good and showed huge potential. You can find out more about them on www.stouffa.co.uk

Brendan Healey took the stage to tell some very old but funny jokes (it’s the way he tells them) and he did vary them between the 2 shows, I think he assumed a younger audience in the 1st.

Part way through the show Jimmy stood up and announced that the new series of Auf Pet would be out soon and the reason that they decided to go ahead was because of the sketches written for the first Sunday Night For Sammy two years ago. In the first show he announced that Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais were in the audience and in the second he brought them on stage.

The show ended with Lindisfarne singing a song from their new album which is being released shortly, followed by ‘Meet Me On The Corner’ and then being joined by the whole cast to sing ‘Run For Home’

Other stars of the show included PJ and Duncan (sorry Ant and Dec) Aaron Bayley, Peter Peverley, Peter Beardsley, Glenn McCrory, and if I’ve forgotten anyone else please accept my apologies.

Once again these were fantastic shows which made our 600 mile trip worthwhile and of course to think that you are supporting a charity in the name of such a talented man makes it even better. The highlight of my evening, apart from being lucky enough to be there, was the Auf Wiedersehen Pet sketches (and briefly talking to Ian LaFrenais in the foyer). The only disappointment was Jimmy Nail not singing Big River.

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